ICE spotting app surges to number one on iPhone downloads after White House backlash
ICEBlock, which launched in April for free, is a community-driven iOS app designed to anonymously report and track US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent sightings in real-time.
Modeled after the Waze navigation app for reporting traffic and road hazards, ICEBlock allows users to pin ICE agent locations on a map and add notes within a five-mile radius.
The app has recently surged in popularity as deportation raids have increased, prompting US Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to call it an 'obstruction of justice' and claiming it encourages violence against ICE agents.
The White House has also lashed out at media organizations like CNN for allegedly promoting the app on their network, claiming that CNN was helping illegal migrants 'sabotage' ICE raids across the country.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said: 'CNN is willfully endangering the lives of officers who put their lives on the line every day and enabling dangerous criminal aliens to evade US law. Is this simply reckless 'journalism' or overt activism?'
As the controversy over the app grows, so has the number of people downloading it, with ICEBlock reaching the number one spot in the Apple App Store to start July.
As of Monday, ICEBlock had 95,200 users, according to Joshua Aaron, the Texas-based software developer who created the free app.
According to NBC News' Ben Goggin, the app skyrocketed in popularity after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt condemned ICEBlock's use to avoid immigration authorities carrying out President Trump's mass deportation order.
Apple does not release data on the number of downloads from the App Store; however, the tech giant noted that ICEBlock had soared past other free apps, including WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook.
Aaron has described himself on BlueSky as 'Proud Antifa,' a term that's short for 'anti-fascist' and refers to a group of activists who oppose perceived far-right or fascist ideologies, often tying them to the Trump Administration.
They are known for their militant tactics, including physical confrontations, doxxing, or disrupting events associated with groups that have opposing political views.
Aaron went on to compare the recent ICE raids in major cities like Los Angeles to police tactics used in Nazi Germany.
ICE raids have been drawing increased scrutiny in Los Angeles and so-called 'sanctuary cities,' with some civil liberties groups blasting the practice of armed, masked agents surrounding and detaining people on the street and in other public spaces.
'When I saw what was happening in this country, I really just wanted to do something to help fight back,' Aaron told NBC News.
The creator of ICEBlock claimed that the app is for information and notification purposes only and is not meant to help people track down and start fights with law enforcement.
Despite Aaron's intentions, ICE officials have noted a staggering 500 percent increase in assaults on agents during the Trump Administration's immigration crackdown.
Leavitt slammed CNN's coverage of ICEBlock after the rise in assaults was revealed during a White House press briefing this week.
'Surely, it sounds like this would be an incitement of further violence against our ICE officers,' Leavitt said.
'As you stated, there's been a 500% increase in violence against ICE agents, law enforcement officers across the country who are just simply trying to do their jobs and remove public safety threats from our communities,' the press secretary continued.
In a post on X, the Department of Homeland Security warned: 'If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, we will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
CNN has pushed back on claims they are actively promoting the app's usage, writing in a statement that ICEBlock 'is an app that is publicly available to any iPhone user who wants to download it.'
'There is nothing illegal about reporting the existence of this or any other app, or does such reporting constitute promotion or other endorsement of the app by CNN?' the media organization added.
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